Carrie Kirby's blog

28 Ways to Have Cheap Halloween Fun

Halloween spending has come to rival the Christmas shopping season -- a boon to retailers but not so much to debt-strapped consumers. Here are some ideas for skipping Halloween exp

Save Enough on Meat to Buy a Chest Freezer

I ended my worries over where our beef comes from by investing in a quarter cow and a chest freezer. I considered the cost of the freezer as the cost of having the hormone-free, no

Super Doubles Are Back at Kmart

Are Super Double coupons at Kmart worth the time and hassle involved? Sometimes you never know until you're done shopping. But following a few simple tips can help stack the odds i

Summer Freebies and Bargains for Kids

The best thing about public school is that it keeps kids occupied and not spending money for six hours a day or more. Now that it's summer, here re seven ideas for free or very che

Supermarket Angst Part III: How to Buy Better Poultry

In my supermarket angst series, I've been researching questions that have puzzled me at the store. This time, I'm tackling poultry. Is organic poultry worth the price premium? What

Supermarket Angst Part II: What Eggs Should I Buy?

Once upon a time, eggs came in medium and large, white and brown, and which one you chose wasn't of much consequence. Nowadays, this cheap source of nutrients and protein comes in

Grocery Store Earth Angst -- Tackling Some of Those Questions About Buying for Health and Environment

I spent my Earth Day burning electricity -- by researching online some of the questions that have been nagging me when I try to buy earth-friendly and healthy foods. In this first

How Many Will Lose Money on Those "Frugal" Gardens This Year?

As the economy falters, gardening looks better than ever this spring. But as the daughter of a veteran gardener, I've seen too much heartache to believe seed companies' promises of

Where Oh Where Are My Worms? Be On Your Toes When Ordering From Small Web Businesses

As Main Street small businesses disappear, it's nice that we can still order from small companies online. However, spoiled consumers take heed: Not all small companies are created

Using PAPER Coupons When You Order Online

Even if you live the all-digital lifestyle, don't put away those scissors yet. Some Web sites are now taking manufacturers' coupons.

Advanced Grocery Deals: Catalinas

Have you mastered using coupons on regular grocery deals, taking advantage of clearance sales and buy-1-get-1 ofers? Then it's time to try some graduate-level deals: Catalinas.

My Kitchen Could Be a Yeast Farm

The free things in life are few -- but one of them, it turns out, is yeast. It's floating all around you, and getting it out of the air and into your bread is easier than you might

My Favorite Guides to Frugal Living Are Not Guides to Frugal Living

Want to turn friends on to the frugal lifestyle without scaring them away? Ease them in with my favorite books that are not in-your-face anti-spending books, yet teach a lot of gre

Can a Kindle Save You Money? Oprah's Coupon Code Makes It Easier

For awhile I have been pondering whether Amazon's Kindle reading device can really pay for itself. But something happened today that got me off the fence: Oprah shared a coupon cod

Deciding Which Produce to Buy Organic - The Dirty Dozen

When money is tight and you can't buy every single thing organic, how do you choose? Fortunately, the Environmental Working Group has separated the veggie nasties from the veggie O

Faster Free Shipping on Amazon With No Minimum Order -- Free Prime Trial

Wouldn't it be nice if you could get (nearly) everything shipped free from Amazon this holiday season? Without having to spend $25? You can -- with a three-month Amazon Prime Free

Now It's Easier than Ever to Cut the Cable

If you're a hard-core sports fan, you're pretty much stuck paying for cable every month. For the rest of us, a raft of technological and entertainment offerings -- including digita

The Upside of Down

As we watch the markets sink and gyrate, it's a scary time. There's talk of a major recession. While the downsides of a downturn are obvious and very real -- lost work, lost invest

Follow Your Frugal Bliss

Sometimes reading about frugal phenoms can be discouraging instead of inspiring. The lady who raises her own laying hens on her balcony, the family that gets hundreds of dollars in

Stay Thin and Save

We've all been warned of the increased health care costs resulting from obesity. But what about all those other things you pay more for, like transportation, utitilities and clothi